Before products for health and wellness are sold, they have to go through rigorous testing to determine their safety. Authorities also need to determine the extent of which the product actually helps someone’s health – is it a drug that can cure, or is it a supplement that boosts body functions, or is it a food that has minor health benefits in comparison?
Furthermore, the distinguishing features of each product can help to determine the legality of them – are they a prescription drug, or an illegal narcotic, or a perfectly healthy food to be sold in shops?
As you can see already – when discussing the health benefits of certain drugs, supplements, or foods there is a lot to prove. CBD is no different.
So what is the issue?
Unlike single chemical drugs, CBD is only one element of the cannabis plant. It is for this simple reason that cannabis and other plant based treatments are difficult to assess and quantify. There’s no way to tell whether it’s the CBD or another aspect of the plant that’s causing or preventing things from happening in the body.
The “evidence based” pharmaceutical system that we have today was originally put into play to allow the medical trade to develop single factor drugs, which are proposed, rigorously tested and then patented and sold. They are most often a single chemical with a dedicated purpose.
Cannabis, however, contains a vast amount of plant nutrients and chemicals. In fact, it contains over 100 active elements all operating in unison over the body’s systems. This is what makes it so potent in treating a range of issues, but it is also what makes it very difficult to assess.
Difficulties for CBD products
Unfortunately, cannabis has often been vilified over the years due to the war on drugs, as well as the fact that it has, for the most part, been illegal to research for almost 100 years. As a result, you get a very neglected plant, of which the health benefits are relatively unknown.
Therefore, it can seem like CBD has a harder time than other substances might have, because it has to fight this battle on medical and moral battlefields. The good news, however, is that now it is making its resurgence. It is being researched at a staggering speed with new evidence coming to light almost daily.
The growth and development of the research around CBD not only determines its medical classification, but it can also help regulate it. Studies have shown that a range of CBD and THC oil products (both home-made and commercially produced) often differ from their labelled potency when tested for after their consumption. Some of the research even found that no cannabinoids were found at all in the subjects who consumed them.
As a result, these deviations make it difficult for some cannabinoid products to be trusted and taken seriously, whereas the further study of them would enable authorities to regulate them and make them more affordable, safe and reliable.
With more and more research being conducted into CBD and other cannabis derivatives, we can learn even more about its efficacy and applications for potential health issues in the very near future. In the meantime, as with any other supplements, always look for recent studies into the ingredients and shop with reputable brands – here at the Wild Health Co, our hemp is grown organically, extracted cleanly using CO2 extraction, and full lab tests are available, making it one of the best products available. Shop our full range of CBD oils, teas and more at wildhealthco.com.
